Detective Conan: Roles switched?
by emeludysfate
Summary: What if Shinichi's and Ran's roles were switched: Ran was the daughter of Yusaku and Yukiko and a great detective, and Shinichi - the only son of hopeless private eye Mori Kogoro? What could happen after the roller coaster incident?
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello, everybody! It's my first attempt in fanfiction and it's really weird idea... Besides, English is not my native language. But I think, I have to try writing this kind of story. So, please, bear me for time being…**_

_**Summary: What if Shinichi's and Ran's roles were interchanged: Ran was the daughter of Yusaku and Yukiko and a great detective, and Shinichi - the only son of hopeless private eye Mori Kogoro? What could happen after the roller coaster incident?**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **_

The atmosphere was grim and silent. It couldn't be otherwise in that place – the room where the murder occurred. The victim was the owner of one of the biggest pharmaceutical company – Suda Taro. Somebody stabbed him in the back. And now police had no clues. Of course, there were four suspects – Suda Rinko, the wife of murdered man, his best friend Hirano Ken and two sons – Shota and Jiro. All of them had their motives. The problem was that there was neither evidence, nor even clues. Complete deadlock.

The stout man in the hat - inspector Megure – frowned. He didn't want a cold case, yet it seemed that that mystery would become unsolved. Inspector was sure that the real murderer was smirking mentally at the moment.

But still, police could do nothing.

"We're going to leave. The investigation will continue tomorrow," said Megure without trying to hide his irritation.

"Please, inform us when you find the culprit," asked Rinko.

"We'll call you if we find something," promised inspector.

"I don't think you'll need it as the case is already solved" spoke a serious voice from behind. Everybody turned around and saw a girl with long dark hair.

"Ran-kun? What are you doing here?" exclaimed Megure with great surprise. One of police officers scraped the back of his head:

"Actually, Ran-san has been here for a while… You see, she was passing by and noticed police here…"

"And you haven't tell me a thing, have you, Takagi-kun?" inspector frowned. Sometimes he really thought his assistant was hopeless. Nevertheless, Megure was glad to see the girl. Ran was the only daughter of his friend Kudo Yusaku, who was famous for both his writing and deductive skills. Moreover, it seemed the girl had inherited her father's great mind: some time before she began to solve the most difficult cases, so that she even was called 'The savior of police' by media.

"What do you mean by 'the case is solved'?" asked Hirano with irritation. "The police have found no evidence! Are you saying you know who the murderer is?"

"Of course," answered Ran without any doubt in her voice. "It was the second son – Jiro-san. He owed a great deal of money and was chased by his creditors. If his father Suda-san helped him, Jiro-san could get out of his problems. But the old man was really greedy, so he cruelly refused to…"

"Ridiculous!" yelled Jiro angrily. "You have no proof! It's only your silly deduction!"

"Really!" nodded Rinko. "My son couldn't kill his own father!"

"Ran-kun, are you sure?" asked inspector. "Jiro-san said he hadn't seen his father for a while because of their quarrel. His mother and brother confirmed it. Are you saying that they lied?"

"They simply don't know that Jiro-san secretly came to his father begging for money. Here is the proof," Ran took out a lighter. "It was found in Suda-san's cabinet. The victim didn't smoke, as well as Rinko-san, Shota-san and Hirano-san. You're only one who smokes. And pretty sure we'll find your fingerprints on the lighter. There are also blood stains on it".

"So what's now?" for a second Jiro tensed, but then smiled arrogantly. "I simply left my lighter in the cabinet by mistake during my last visit. Maybe, the murderer accidentally dropped it off the table…"

"Actually, I lied: this lighter was found by one of the maids in the corridor," Ran smiled. "She recognized it as yours and decided to return it to you. Then somebody found the body, and she simply forgot about the lighter. She's quite absent-minded, that maid… Jiro-san, you dropped your lighter right after the murder. You panicked and picked it, but then lost it while running away. You know it yourself: the blood stains on your lighter came from your blood-stained fingers…"

"Enough," said the man quietly. "I really killed my father. He was a real monster who didn't want to help even his son. He laughed at me when I begged him at least lent me some money! I was enraged. When I came to myself, he was lying in the ground motionless…"

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"Have you heard the news? About Suda Taro's murder case?"

"The police could do nothing!"

"Yeah, that Kudo girl is really something!"

"She is the savior of police, after all".

The group of chatting teens passed the dark-haired highschooler, who was reading a newspaper. It was Shinichi, Ran's childhood friend.

'Somehow, she managed to solve another murder case. Can't she find something more appropriate for girl than dead bodies?' he thought with a sigh. Shinichi knew Ran for many years, but still couldn't fully understand her crazy love for mysteries and cases.

Suddenly he spotted his childhood friend talking to the group of their classmates. Shinichi mentally facepalmed. Great, now Ran surely was boasting about her famous deduction. Maybe, she wasn't too conceited, but she really liked to attract everybody's attention. Perhaps, she inherited that trait from her mother, the famous actress.

At last, Ran left her fans and noticed the boy.

"Hi, Shinichi!"

"Hello, Ran," Shinichi frowned. "I've seen the news about Suda's case…"

"It was a piece of cake," the girl shrugged, interrupting him.

"That's not what I mean… Do you really enjoy all these murders, dead bodies, investigations and staff?"

"I simply want to find the truth," said Ran. "And criminals must be put in jail".

"You can leave solving the cases to the professionals. By God's sake, you're still in highschool!"

"By 'professionals' you mean your father, don't you?" Ran smiled mischievously. "Old Kogoro is really hopeless. Does he still watch TV and drink beer all day long?"

Shinichi didn't know what to say against it. After all private eye Mori Kogoro was really not so great. It was a miracle if he somehow managed to solve simple case. And of course, most of time Kogoro was drinking, watching TV or playing mahjong.

"It has nothing to do with dad," at last replied Shinichi. "I meant police".

"You've seen it yourself. They are not able to solve everything," disagreed Ran. "Besides, I love mysteries…"

"Still, these cases are dangerous, especially for girl," insisted Shinichi. "If you like mysteries, you can simply follow your father's footsteps and write a book…"

"No way! I don't like to create puzzles, I like to solve them," she seemed slightly irritated.

For some moments they both was walking silently. Suddenly a ball rolled before them. Ran looked around, noticed some children playing football and passed them the ball.

"Thanks, nee-chan!" exclaimed one of the children.

"You like football, don't you?" asked Shinichi. Well, it wasn't the most appropriate hobby for a girl too, but at least, football was much safer than chasing the criminals.

"I know, what you want to say," said Ran. "But I play football to be fit. Isn't it the same with your karate?"

"Yeah," Shinichi nodded nervously. Actually, he began to do karate many only because he wanted to protect Ran, who tended to get into trouble from early age. After all, Shinichi secretly loved her for years, yet his childhood friend, even being great detective, didn't notice his feelings at all.

Suddenly the teen remembered something. In fact, Shinichi was going to speak with Ran about something else before he saw that morning paper.

"Look, Ran, you know that I've won last karate tournament, don't you? I wanted to celebrate it with some friends, but then everybody got very busy…" Biggest. And. Dumbest. Lie. Ever. No way, that Ran with her deductive skill would believe him. At least, Shinichi was glad that it wasn't his plan to invite the girl for a date.

Surprisingly, Ran hadn't suspected a thing:

"And where have you planned to go?"

"Tropical Land".

"That new amusement park?" asked Ran. "They say it's great, but I've never been there".

"Then… Would you like to come with me?" suggested Shinichi. It was much more difficult than he thought. He could be fearless, confident and honest, but when it came to his feelings for Ran, Shinichi felt himself helpless and lost.

"OK," the girl nodded, much for his surprise. "Let's meet at four near the gates".

No one of them knew that the evening would become one of the most fateful events of their lives…


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello, everybody! Thank you for reading my story! I deeply appreciate your response.**_

_**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything**_

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Shinichi really thought that the date with Ran (even if she didn't consider it as a date!) would be great. He planned to show his childhood friend the most exciting places of the Tropical Land. The highschooler really tried his best. Alas, everything went wrong from the very start.

All Ran was talking about was the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes that, Holmes this… Really, it even began to seem like a date between Ran and Sherlock with Shinichi as the third weird. Honestly, for a moment he even became jealous of fictional character!

Well, it couldn't be helped. Shinichi had known Ran for years. Sherlock Holmes was always an ideal for her. The girl admired his great mind and the legendary deductive skills. Shinichi was sure that the ideal man for his childhood friend was somebody like Holmes – sharp-witted, keen and confident, a detective solving the most difficult cases with ease.

Shinichi winced. He liked Ran and wanted to impress her, so he tried to solve a case once. His deduction was really bad (even Kogoro agreed that it was absurd and ridiculous), and his crush… Well, she couldn't help laughing every time she remembered that incident. So Shinichi decided to give up. After all, it was impossible for him to become somebody like Holmes.

"Do you know that Holmes could find out a person's occupation from sole handshake?" asked Ran and suddenly grabbed some girl's hand.

Next few minutes the great highschool detective was telling about that girl love for gymnastics. Well, Ran never ceased to amaze Shinichi.

"You know, I still can't get why it was gymnastic," whispered the young man. "That girl could get her calluses from something else".

"I've checked," shrugged Ran. "I saw marks from parallel bars on her thighs".

Shinichi stared at her in disbelief:

"You haven't looked under her skirt, have you?"

The young detective never answered, but it was obvious even without words. Shinichi mentally facepalmed: he simply couldn't get his crush. If Ran was the boy, her actions would be considered as harassment. Luckily for her reputation, she was a girl, but still Shinichi thought that it was somehow wrong.

When the couple got on roller coaster, Ran was still talking about Holmes. Shinichi really wanted to tell her that he is not interested in that stuff, but he simply couldn't make his crush mad and lose his chance to become closer to her.

Unknown for him, Ran never let down her guard, even if it seemed that she was completely consumed in conversation. Some time ago she noticed two men, who picked up her interest, in the queue. One of them was short and stout; another one had long silver hair. They both were wearing black clothes. Those two could put on sign 'Suspicious' with the same result: their clothes stood out too much. And now, for some reason, the man in black were in the same roller coaster as them…

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Shinichi still couldn't get rid of unpleasant feeling. Who could know that the murder would occur on the roller coaster? The teen suddenly thought that he would never get used to the murders. They were sorrowful human tragedies. What power caused people to commit crimes? Shinichi really wished he knew the answer.

The teen suddenly remembered about Ran. Even if she solved that case, she was still a girl, it had to be hard for her. For his utter shock, his crush didn't seem upset at all. Well, Ran looked thoughtful, but this was all.

"Aren't you upset?" asked Shinichi.

"You know, I've already used to murders," answered Ran, through rather indifferently.

"Are you joking?" yelled Shinichi angrily. "Somebody is dead! You know, he could have some dreams, some plans for future! And now all of this is gone! You could at least express some sympathy!"

He surely lost his temper. Every normal girl would be crying, but not Ran.

"Look, Shinichi, I've done everything to put the culprit into the jail, besides…" suddenly she paused as she saw suspicious short man in black from roller coaster. It seemed that her job wasn't over yet.

"Shinichi, let's continue our conversation tomorrow. I'm busy now!" and she left without saying good-bye.

Shinichi watched her run away. She actually left! Had he said too much? The teen hadn't noticed suspicious man in black, so now he hadn't even slightest idea why Ran had left.

This evening was really horrible. First, the murder, then he yelled at Ran, and now she ran away! Besides, Shinichi had an uneasy feeling as if he would never see his childhood friend again…

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Ran quickly found the man in black. It seemed he blackmailed some SEO, so the girl hid herself around the corner, trying to overhear the conversation. She was right: it was definitely a blackmail. She had to call to inspector Megure and tell him everything.

Unfortunately, Ran forgot about second suspicious person – the man with long silver hair. It was her fatal error as that man silently approached her from behind and hit her head with the metal pipe.

Ran fell down. She heard something about 'too much police' and 'new poison', and then somebody tugged her head and forced to swallow something like pill.

Suddenly the girl felt horrible pain as if all her bones were melting. As she was losing her consciousness she remembered Shinichi's words.

'_Still, these cases are dangerous, especially for girl'._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Wow, I actually got some kind reviews for my story! Thank you, everybody, I deeply appreciate your response! **_

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Ran woke up from the bright light and somebody's worried cry:

"Hey, little girl, are you all right?"

Ran sat up. Was she really still alive? At least, it seemed so, even if she felt dizzy and had a horrible headache. The girl looked up and saw a policeman, who looked very concerned about her wellbeing. Stop, did he actually called her 'little girl'? She wasn't so short to be considered a child.

"What happened?" asked the policeman. "Your head is bleeding. Are you hurt?"

Ran suddenly remembered. Those suspicious men in black, where did they go? She tried to stand up, but failed. For some reason, her own clothes felt too loose and uncomfortable. The sleeves were too long and her skirt could fall down any moment.

"Hey, little girl, are you lost?" the policeman still tried to get Ran's attention. "You aren't runaway, are you?"

"No," answered Ran. "I'm all right".

She was surprised of her own voice. The girl didn't remember it being so high-pitched. It was as if she really was a little girl. Nonsense! She would turn seventeen this year.

It seemed that policeman hadn't believed her at all.

"You know, it would be better if you go with me to the police station," he said with kind smile. "Then we'll call your parents and…"

'No way!' thought Ran. As if she wanted to come with that policeman. She could get home by herself. So Ran tried to run away holding her skirt.

"Hey, wait!" called the policeman and followed the girl. Luckily, he soon lost her track because of darkness.

Just in time, as Ran stopped to take a breath. Something was definitely wrong: usually she didn't get tired so soon. Accidently the girl looked into shop-window and froze. Her reflection showed her a little girl about six years old in oversized clothes. Did that poison make her shrink? No way! Such idea was even crazier than some of her neighbour's, professor Agasa's, inventions. It seemed unbelievable yet it was reality…

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Ran jumped up once more in hopeless attempt to open the gate. In the end, she decided to go home and now couldn't even get in the house! It wasn't funny at all, moreover, it was really annoying to feel so helpless and weak.

Suddenly the girl heard something like explosion. The wall next to her was broken. Professor Agasa stood near the hole with disappointed look. It seemed that his new invention turned out to be another failure.

'Really, professor needs to calm down or one day he'll destroy his house,' thought Ran with a sigh. All of sudden it dawned upon her: even if her neighbour was a crazy inventor he still was a scientist. For now, he was only person who could help her.

"Hello, professor Agasa!" she called the old man. Noticing his puzzled look, Ran added: "It's me, Ran!"

It seemed professor didn't recognize her at all:

"Are you Ran's relative? You're too young to be her!"

"No, it's me! I can prove! You're professor Agasa Hiroshi, the crazy scientist whose inventions always fail!"

Well, the last part was definitely unnecessary as the old man got angry:

"You know, it was quite rude to say something like that even if you was repeating Ran's words. Not to mention it is incredibly impolite!"

Ran sighed. She needed solider proof of her identity. For now she could think only of one thing – her superior deductive skills. She took a deep breath and said with confidence:

"You were in your favourite restaurant "Colombo" not long ago, professor!"

Ran's deduction helped her once more. It took two minutes to explain to Agasa how she knew that fact and convinced him at last that she was really Ran. Then the girl told about her situation.

"And so it seemed that poison shrunk my body," she finished. The girl and professor were in her library.

Ran had already changed. She never thought she would need her old clothes from the first grade, but now it came in handy.

"So, that's it," murmured Agasa, reflecting about something.

"Professor, can you find an antidote?" asked Ran impatiently. "I can't stay like this!"

"Alas, I can't," sighed the old man. "After all, I'm not a chemist. I know enough about different chemicals, but I still need at least a sample of that poison".

"So, I need to find those men in black," said Ran.

"Yes," nodded professor. "But I have to warn you. It'd better for you to conceal the fact that you're still alive".

"For what reason?" asked Ran, puzzled.

"I think those men in black are really dangerous people. They are different from criminals you've met before. If they know that you have survived, they'll try to kill you for sure. Your friends and relatives will be in danger as well. So, the less people know, the safer you will be. Do you understand?"

"Yes," the girl nodded.

"Oh, and one more thing," added the old man. "Don't tell Shinichi about your situation".

"Why?" Ran didn't get the idea.

"You know, Shinichi was always by your side protecting you," said professor. "What do you think he will do if he hears that somebody hurt and poisoned you?"

"He'll try to find those men in black," replied the girl. She knew her childhood friend very well. For some reason Shinichi always beat the hell out of anybody who dared to offend her. Ran really liked that trait of her childhood friend. In truth, she loved Shinichi for many years, but never knew how to express her feelings.

"Hey, Ran? Are you at home? Look, I didn't mean that…" Shinichi entered the library and saw only professor. Ran managed to hide behind the old man as soon as she heard the teen's voice.

"Hello, professor. Isn't Ran at home? I've seen her shoes," Shinichi looked confused.

"Hello, Shinichi," the old man forced a smile. "Ran was here, but then she got a sudden call… I think, she said something about important case…"

"Again?" asked Shinichi in bewilderment. "Wasn't one murder enough for today? Besides, it's already late. Don't you think, it's dangerous for a young girl to wander alone at this time? She could at least call me…"

'It seems he's really worried,' thought Ran with regret. But she couldn't let him to find a truth! The girl tried to hide more. Unfortunately, she tripped and fell down.

It was bad, no, it was catastrophe! Shinichi had known Ran from early age, so there was no way that he wouldn't recognize her. The girl tried to hide once more, this time behind the table.

Shinichi looked puzzled as he noticed the girl.

"Say, professor, who is this little girl?" he asked.

"Oh, it's my distant relative!" exclaimed Agasa hastily.

"Is it so?" the teen was surprised. "But why is she hiding? I haven't scared her, have I?"

"No, no," the old man shook his head. "You see, she is quite shy…"

After Ran had hidden behind the table, she began to look for some disguise. The girl was really unlucky: she had found only her father's spare glasses. Well, they say that half a loaf is better than no bread… So, Ran hurriedly put on the glasses. Just in time as Shinichi looked behind the table and their gazes met.

'Wow, he seems so tall now, when I shrank,' thought the girl and blushed for some reason. Then she froze because of horror. Shinichi was silent for too long. Was it possible that he recognized her? Had her poor disguise failed?

"Hello," said Shinichi nervously, forced a wide smile and… patted Ran's head.

The girl nearly fell down of shock. Her childhood friend really hadn't recognized her! Well, after all, he was the son of Mouri Kogoro, so no wonder…

"So, what's your name, little girl?" continued Shinichi. He was trying his best not to scare the child, but in that situation result was entirely opposite.

Ran panicked. She had no time to think out some name. Moreover, she hadn't any ideas. Suddenly her gaze fell on the bookshelf. She noticed one of the books.

_Arthur Conan Doyle. Scandal in Bohemia. _

It was one of her favourite stories about Sherlock Holmes - the story, where Irene Adler, the only woman admired by great detective, appeared. It wasn't the best first name, but Ran hadn't time to think anything better.

"I'm Irene," she blurted.

"Irene?"

"Yes, I'm Edogawa Irene," nodded Ran. The first name was definitely foreign, so at least the last name had to be Japanese. She took it from Edogawa Rampo, a famous mystery writer.

"You have quite unusual name, Irene-chan," smiled Shinichi.

"My parents are great fans of Conan Doyle," replied the little girl, who took the alias 'Edogawa Irene'. "And Irene Adler is one of their favourite characters!"

"By the way, Shinichi," Agasa broke into their conversation. "Wouldn't your mind to take care of Irene-chan? Her parents left her with me, but I'm not sure that I could pay her enough attention…"

"What?" Shinichi was really shocked. "No way! First, I don't know a thing about children. Second, my house isn't the best place for little child to live. Besides, I'm a guy and she is a girl! Ask Ran… Oh, yeah, she has a case… Can't you ask anybody else?"

"Really, professor," whispered Ran. "It's a bad idea. If I live under the same roof as Shinichi, eventually he'll find the truth".

"Think about it once more," answered the old man barely audible. "You need some information about those men in black. You can't use police's sources anymore. But Shinichi's father is a private detective. You can use his agency for gathering information".

It was quite reasonable so the girl nodded.

"Look, Shinichi," professor tried to convince the young man. "Irene-chan won't be a problem. She is quite independent and can take care of herself".

"I can even cook!" added Ran with the cutest smile.

"OK," Shinichi gave in with a sigh. "Let's go, Irene-chan".

"All right, Shinichi-niichan!" Ran took the teen's hand. It was so big and warm. The girl blushed once more. Luckily, her childhood friend hadn't noticed it…


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hello, everybody! As usual, I deeply appreciate your kind response.**_

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As Ran was walking with Shinichi, she couldn't help wondering what would she do from now. Of course, the girl needed good source of information, but she still had some doubts if she really had to live under the same roof as her childhood friend.

Ran looked up to Shinichi who was holding her hand. It was quite unusual to see him from that angle. Her childhood friend was so much taller compared to her now.

But it wasn't the matter now as the girl noticed Shinichi's concerned look. Besides, he was silent for quite a while.

"What's happened, Shinichi-niichan? Are you angry with me?" Ran put on one of the most innocent and childish smiles. Sometimes it was really useful to have a great actress as a mother.

"No, no," Shinichi shook his head. "You've done nothing wrong. I simply was wondered about acquaintance of mine…"

"By any chance, wasn't you thinking about that Ran-neechan?" the girl smiled mischievously.

"You know, Irene-chan, I was really reflecting about her," replied Shinichi, looking somewhere up. "Ran is really weird with all her crazy love for mysteries and cases. Besides, it seems she has a talent to get herself into trouble. She never thinks of consequences while she looks for criminals…"

The girl slightly frowned. Her childhood friend had told her that for thousand times. When he was angry, he even called her dumb and utter fool, so she was ready for something like that to follow. However, Ran heard something completely different.

"Really, her love for mysteries often goes too far…" said Shinichi. "And still, I think I can understand her. Modern society is full of crime, but most people pretend that nothing is wrong… Yet the murders occur nearly every day and some of them become cold cases. Ran has always had a strong sense of justice, so she can't let the criminal get away without punishment. We're quite similar in this. Maybe, that's why I like her so much…"

Shinichi suddenly froze. Did he actually blurted out his feelings to a random person? Luckily, he thought, it was only six-years-old girl. He never noticed that Irene blushed like tomato.

"Look, Irene-chan," Shinichi laughed nervously, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I think I chose incredibly complicated and boring topic… Anyway, it's too early for you to know about something like this… I think, it'd be better if you tell me something about you…"

'Oh, no,' thought Ran in panic. 'It's bad! Edogawa Irene has no background. If Shinichi continues to question me he'll catch me on lie for sure!'

"Ehm, you see…" murmured Ran trying to invent some story. Luckily, they got to Mouri's detective agency just in time.

"Here we are," said Shinichi.

"Do you live here, in detective agency, Shinichi-niichan? It's great!" asked the girl innocently. It was the perfect opportunity to change the dangerous topic.

"Yeah, I think so," replied Shinichi with weak smile as he suddenly remembered that the agency was in a great mess. He hadn't cleaned his flat yet, and he seriously doubted that his father would be bothered about throwing out all the litter. What would Irene-chan think about it?

His train of thought was interrupted as the taxi had suddenly stopped near the agency. Next moment he noticed middle-aged moustached man - his father, the infamous detective Mouri Kogoro. He seemed to be in hurry as he passed his son with the yell:

"Shinichi, I have an immediate case! I need to hurry before some annoying meddlesome brat pokes her nose there!"

Ran huffed. By 'some annoying meddlesome brat' Kogoro definitely meant her. As if that looser detective could really solve the serious case and she was only getting on the way! The girl was so enraged that she got into taxi as well, followed by quite confused Shinichi.

Kogoro was so excited about his case that he had noticed extra passengers too late.

"Shinichi, what are you doing here?" asked the man.

"I don't know," shrugged the teen. "Irene-chan rushed to the car all of sudden…"

"Irene-chan?" at last Kogoro noticed the little girl.

"Yay! We're riding the car!" Ran exclaimed in extremely childish and high-pitched voice.

The moustached man winced. That's why he didn't like little children. They were too noisy.

"Shinichi, where did you find this brat? I really hope she is not your illegitimate child, is she?"

Ran mentally facepalmed. As usual, Kogoro's sense of humour was as poor as his deductive skills, or, maybe, even worse.

"Of course, no!" replied Shinichi. "She is…"

He never finished his explanation as his father was more concerned about the case and didn't listen to him at all…

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It was kidnapping case. Quite typical, as Ran thought. Somebody kidnapped Akiko, the little daughter of the client. The only witness was the butler. The girl could solve something like that very quickly.

The problem was that for everybody she was Edogawa Irene, only six-years-old girl, not Kudo Ran, great detective. Of course, nobody let her investigate, moreover, Kogoro even tried to kick her. Fortunately, Shinichi stopped his father just in time:

"You haven't tried to kick Irene-chan, dad, have you? For God's sake, she is only little child!"

"I don't care! That brat is getting on the way!" growled the man.

Ran went aside quite disappointed. She definitely couldn't solve cases while treated like a silly kid. Nobody would listen to her words even if they were reasonable.

The girl stumbled upon a ball and began to kick it absent-mindedly.

That kidnapping… Something was definitely off. That butler was quite suspicious. And his words…

Shinichi looked at little girl with interest:

"You have rather impressive skills, Irene-chan. Do you like football?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"And I thought that Ran was the only girl who really liked to play football… She even said once that kicking the ball helped her to put her thoughts in order," continued the teen. "But you're as good as her".

Irene looked at him attentively. Had he any suspicions? No, it didn't seem so. Her childhood friend was still oblivious.

The girl lost concentration for a moment and the ball flew away. When she was chasing after it, a big dog barked at her.

That's was it, the odd thing in the butler's evidence! If there really was a kidnapper, the dog had to bark. And the owner confirmed her suspicions as he said that his dog was incredibly good watchdog. The case suddenly became clear as noonday. Even Kogoro understood everything.

The butler, Aso-san, had confessed about his lie. He told to his angry master about Akiko's whereabouts. The case seemed to be closed. However, something was still not right.

The phone rang once more and unknown person asked about the ransom. He wasn't joking: little Akiko was really with him. The girl shouted something about some school storeroom and that she could see a chimney from the window, but the kidnapper had already hung up.

That was it, that odd thing! Aso didn't know a thing about it, so Ran understood everything quite clear. Somebody kidnapped Akiko for real, and he wasn't as harmless as the old butler.

Ran didn't have much time to think about the situation as she took the dog and ran away searching for the kidnapped girl. There wasn't too many schools fitting Akiko's description. Soon Ran checked them all, but still hadn't found a thing. Maybe, it wasn't a chimney, but something that resembled it? As soon as that thought crossed the young detective's mind, she noticed a skyscraper. Really, from side it looked like big chimney. There could be only one place. Therefore, Ran hurried there riding the dog.

She hadn't mistaken. There was a little girl, as well as the kidnapper in that school's storeroom. It seemed Ran appeared just in time as that person was going to kill Akiko. The dog attacked the kidnapper knocking him off his feet. Ran rushed to the scared girl:

"Are you alright?"

"Who are you?" asked Akiko.

"Kudo Ran…" began the girl as usual, but then stopped. It seemed she couldn't use her real name for a while. "I mean, Edogawa Irene, the detective…"

"Detective?" whispered Akiko.

"Damn you, brat!" roared the criminal who had a bat in his hands now. The dog for some reason ran away.

Ran kicked the criminal, well, at least she tried to kick. Her kick used to be quite strong (even Shinichi admitted that fact) but now it was stopped with ease. Next moment the man threw Irene off. The girl hit the wall but still stood up. Despite the pain she had to try once more. Ran noticed the ball and kicked it. It was her famous way to take down the criminal – even adult man would be knocked out cold after receiving such a ball.

It hadn't worked as well. Only now Ran fully understood her situation. She didn't only shrank, but her physical strength decreased as well! She simply hadn't thought about that possibility beforehand and now had to face consequences.

The bat hit the girl really hard and she nearly lost her consciousness because of pain. Ran had never been in that kind of situation when she actually found the culprit, yet couldn't catch him. It was really humiliating and the girl barely fought back her tears.

The culprit lifted the bat once more, yet he never hit the little girl before him as he took the punch straight in the face. Ran looked in bewilderment at Shinichi who seemed to appear out of nowhere. The kidnapper tried to fight back, but all his attempts were futile. Well, after all, Shinichi was karate champion, besides, right now he was really pissed and didn't hold back at all. No wonder, his strong sense of justice would never let him forgive somebody who could hurt an innocent child. Ran knew it very well, but still couldn't hold back her surprise. The girl even forgot about the pain. She had never seen her childhood friend like that. Was Shinichi always so awesome? And why hadn't she noticed that fact before?

The culprit was knocked out, but Ran wouldn't be surprised if the man had some broken bones as well. Next moment, Kogoro rushed into the room, noticed the blacked out kidnapper, kicked him once for the sake of appearances and then proclaimed proudly:

"The great detective Mouri Kogoro has caught the criminal!"

Ran looked at him in bewilderment.

'Really?' she thought with sarcasm. 'I've found the criminal, Shinichi has knocked him out, and Kogoro refuses even to give us some credits! Of course, it was the great detective Mouri Kogoro, who has caught the criminal!'

Her train of thought was interrupted by Shinichi's worried tone:

"Irene-chan, are you alright? Does it hurt?"

"I'm OK," Ran smiled, ignoring the pain.

Shinichi sighed:

"You know, for some reason, when I saw you at first time, I noticed that you looked like mini-Ran… Then I thought it was a mere coincidence. However, even your personalities seem to be the same… When you rushed somewhere looking for the kidnapped girl, my first thought was 'it's so like Ran'…"

It was bad. Was her cover blown so soon? No, it wasn't yet, but it seemed Shinichi had some suspicions. It was quite natural taking into consideration that fact that Ran didn't behave as a normal six-years-old girl. So she needed to convince her childhood friend that she really was only little child.

"Shinichi-niichan, don't be angry with me!" she begged in the most childish manner. "It's not my fault. I didn't want to get away from you, but that big dog dragged me after it… It was too strong for me and I couldn't stop… And then we got here, and that scary man hit me with a bat… I was so scared, Shinichi-niichan!" and Ran faked some tears. Her mother could be proud of Ran: her acting was so good that Shinichi felt really ashamed and uncomfortable.

"Look, Irene-chan, I'm not angry at all! I've simply made a mistake… Please, don't cry… I simply tried to say that it's like having slightly disobedient little sister… Do you want a piggyback ride?" said the teen with nervous smile.

Piggyback ride? Seriously? Moreover, did he actually call her 'disobedient little sister'? Well, it couldn't be helped anyway, so Ran agreed with cute smile.

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"So what is with this girl?" asked Kogoro. The case was closed and they were riding home at the taxi.

"She is professor's Agasa distant relative," answered Shinichi, suddenly remembering that he still hadn't asked for his father's permission. "Irene-chan's parents left her with professor, but he couldn't take care of her, so he asked me… Don't you mind her staying with us?"

The teen slightly frowned as he predicted his father's reaction. It was no way that Kogoro would let some random child to live in his apartment. Moreover, it seemed that the detective didn't like Irene considering that fact that he tried to hit her before.

But Kogoro's answer was quite the opposite:

"She can stay. It seems this brat has brought me some luck!"

Well, after all, he was really satisfied now when he got his payment…

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_**I actually have some ideas for this fic. For now I don't think I'll switch somebody's else roles, because I always wondered what Kazuha's reaction would be if 'that Kudo' was **__**actually **__**the girl. In fact, I can imagine it :3 (poor Heiji!). **_


	5. Chapter 5

Ran would never think that being a child could cause so many problems. Well, maybe the reason was that she was a child with mind of adult. That's why the girl felt so embarrassed and even humiliated.

Strangely enough, but Ran suddenly discovered other side of many things. As Shinichi was much more honest about his feelings while speaking with 'Irene-chan', Ran really understood for the first time how much he worried about her wellbeing. Because of that the girl even began to wonder if she had to tell her childhood friend all the truth. Only professor's reasonable warnings prevented her from doing something like that. And luckily, Shinichi still stayed oblivious.

The live in Mouri's detective agency wasn't easy as well. The main reason was that Kogoro's good mood vanished too soon. Little Irene for him was an annoying 'freeloader' and he couldn't help arguing with his son.

"Have you really given your room to freeloader?" asked Kogoro in the first evening.

"Irene-chan needs her own room, because she is girl," shrugged Shinichi.

"She can use the sofa in the agency!" grumbled the man. "It will be enough for freeloader".

"What's up with that 'freeloader'?" the teen got angry. "Her name is Irene-chan, you know!"

They both were arguing for a while, but then stopped and even came to some agreement…

But next morning Ran overheard much more serious conversation between father and son. She would never have an opportunity to learn something like that if she was still her old self, but now…

"You had a date with that _girl_ yesterday, didn't you?" murmured Kogoro drinking his coffee.

"It wasn't a date," replied Shinichi trying to hide his embarrassment. He hadn't told his father a thing, yet somehow he knew. "I simply invited Ran to Tropical Land".

"It was a date, whatever you may say," the man smirked. "So how it was?"

The teen sighed:

"Horrible. First, there was a murder and Ran solved that case…"

Irene who was listening silently could swear that Kogoro murmured something like 'lucky brat'.

Shinichi continued:

"Then we had a small fight and she left. I wanted to apologize, but when I came to her house, Ran wasn't there. Professor said that she had another case…"

The man looked at his son attentively and then said:

"How much times have I told you to forget about that Kudo brat? A smart woman is the worst thing a man can get in his live! She will always treat you like a fool, besides her pride and independence will always spoil your relationship. She will say she knows better or something like that. And it'll be always only your fault if something goes wrong. Look at your mother, for example".

"And what's wrong with mum?" Shinichi became angry. His parents' divorce was a painful experience for him and he still hoped that Eri and Kogoro would make it up. Alas, both were too stubborn to admit their errors.

"Everything!" answered Kogoro with irritation. "And your know-all girlfriend is even worse! Have you ever seen articles about her cases? Her conceit is really something!"

'And great detective Mouri Kogoro is humble as a priest,' thought Irene with sarcasm. It was strange being discussed yet not be able to defend herself.

"First, Ran is not my girlfriend," retorted Shinichi. "Besides, I don't think she is conceited".

"She is meddlesome and arrogant brat! I'll never change my opinion about her. Look, Shinichi, can't you simply find some cute and lovely girl who will admire your every action? Somebody like… Like Yoko-chan, for example!"

"Don't be silly, Dad!" sighed the teen. Well, he considered raising star Okino Yoko a pretty woman, but nothing more. After all, he liked Ran for years…

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That morning conversation continued to bug Ran. Well, Kogoro was still Kogoro, so his harsh words were quite expected, as well as Shinichi's reaction. But what was up with that 'date'? Hadn't she simply gone to Tropical Land with her childhood friend?

The mystery was solved soon enough as Shinichi went for a walk with Irene. A short time later they came across one peculiar person. It was Suzuki Sonoko, the daughter of rich Suzuki family.

For Ran Sonoko was an old friend. She liked that energetic blonde girl, even if she wasn't too smart. Sonoko seemed obsessed with search of her ideal boyfriend, but her progress was still questionable.

Ran had always thought that Sonoko and Shinichi had nothing to do with each other. Well, they knew each other and so on… However, now Irene learned something really unexpected.

"Hello, Shinichi!" exclaimed Sonoko cheerfully. "So how's the date?"

"Failed," groaned the teen.

"No way!" gasped the girl. "It was perfect plan by Great Goddess of Love Sonoko-sama! How could it possibly fail?"

Irene looked at the blonde in bewilderment. Great Goddess of Love Sonoko-sama? As usual Sonoko surely overdid it. But wait, what did she said about perfect plan?

"I don't know," grumbled Shinichi. "Ran simply went somewhere else in the end. And I had said you it was silly plan…"

"Wait a minute!" interrupted Sonoko. "Tell me everything!"

Next few minutes the teen described the blonde all previous evening from his perspective. Of course, he didn't mentioned men in black, because he simply paid no attention to them.

"So, there was a murder…" said Sonoko thoughtfully. "I knew it was only your fault that the date failed!"

"My fault?" asked Shinichi with slight irritation. "How could I possibly know that there would be a murder in roller coaster? Who do you think I am? A clairvoyant?"

"I didn't mean it," snorted the blonde. "I meant that Ran preferred the case to you. That implies only that you were uninteresting or even boring…"

"And what had I to do? Tell her some detective story? Ran knows that topic more than I do. Or had I to solve that murder case myself? You know, it was impossible for me…"

It was reasonable enough, so Sonoko had nothing to say in return. Instead she proclaimed:

"Anyway, you need to proceed with our plan to show Ran your worth. Only don't try to solve a case like that time when you became laughing-stock. You'd better…" suddenly she stopped as she noticed the little girl beside Shinichi. "By the way, who is this?"

"This is Irene-chan, I take care of her for a while," replied Shinichi.

"Trying to look like big brother?" Sonoko smiled cunningly. "You know, it's not a bad idea. Girls actually like men who are good with children… But you know, this Irene-chan…" she suddenly squatted to see the little girl better.

Ran tensed. Sonoko had known her for a long time as well. She somehow managed to deceive Shinichi, but would it be as easy with her energetic friend? However, the end of her phrase made Ran mentally facepalm:

"…not cute at all! Don't you think she is too serious and gloomy?"

Luckily, Sonoko wasn't a great detective as well. On other hand, Ran felt slightly offended. She was a girl after all and considered herself quite cute.

"Still, we need more aggressive approach," continued Sonoko with inspiration.

"Aggressive approach?" asked Shinichi hoping that he misheard.

"Yes!" exclaimed the blonde. "Plan B is to make Ran jealous!"

"What?" asked the highschooler, quite dumbfounded.

'Eh?' thought Irene with shock. She would never even imagine that her good friend could come to something like that.

"You must make Ran jealous!" repeated Sonoko insistently. "So you'll pretend that you have a girlfriend… Somebody who is beautiful, talented, smart and popular at the same time… If I weren't Ran's best friend, I would play that role myself. Alas, she knows too well that you're not my type, and we need to convince her. Therefore, from this point onwards you'll be meeting good-looking girls and flirting with them. And I, as a loyal friend, will inform Ran about your 'unfaithfulness'. I'm sure, she'll immediately abandon her 'all-important case' and be near you at once! After all, you two are almost married couple!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sonoko! It's nothing like that!" yelled Shinichi.

"Oh, come on!" teased the blonde. "Everybody knows it, except, maybe, you and Ran!"

Meanwhile, Irene barely managed to stifle her anger. She always thought that Sonoko was her real friend, but now began to doubt it. What was with that matchmaking plan? Seriously, her overenergetic friend needed to find her destined one as soon as possible!

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Well, Kogoro's attitude and Sonoko's plans were definitely problems for shrunken Ran, but they weren't so humiliating as the last one, namely elementary school. It was incredibly boring to repeat all those simple kanji and solve childish math problems.

Moreover, the newcomer attracted too much attention and got some friends straight away. Well, it was more as if they let Irene join their company.

One of them was Yoshida Ayumi, an energetic six-years-old girl, who was sweet and caring. But she also liked boys' stuff like sport or that Kamen Yaiba series. For some reason she really wanted to become friends with Irene.

Another one was Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, extremely polite freckled boy. He seemed quite intelligent for his age, but still was really childish. At first he tried to call the newcomer 'Edogawa-san', but as she didn't like it soon switched to 'Irene-chan'. Moreover, it seemed that Mitsuhiko actually liked new girl, as he blushed quite heavily in her presence.

And the last, but not the least, was Kojima Genta, who was too big and too fat for his age. Well, if you considered his love for eel with rice, it wasn't strange at all. Genta was also loud, quite rude and reckless. He proclaimed himself the leader of their little gang and always ordered about.

It seemed to Irene that her new friends would cause her many problems one day…


End file.
